Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Marital Property: Marital property describes the assets and debts that you will accumulate together once you are married.

Marriage Contract: This term may refer to the legal contract implied by getting married, i.e., in California, by getting married you are subjecting yourself to the California family court laws and marriage laws. It may also refer to a premarital agreement, prenuptial agreement, or antenuptial agreement, which is an agreement made between a man and a woman before marrying in which they give up future rights to each other's property in the event of divorce or death.

Marriage Counseling: Counseling on marital problems and disagreements. every relationship experiences its ups and downs. It’s hard to know when your relationship is truly over because it’s a process, not an event. A therapist may be able to help you sort through your feelings, either individually or as a couple. The book Too Good to Leave, Too Bad to Stay: A Step-by-Step Guide to Help You Decide Whether to Stay in or Get Out of Your Relationship, by Mira Kirshenbaum, may be helpful, as well as many of Dr. John Gottman’s books, www.gottman.com

Mediation*: Intervention between conflicting parties to promote resolution, settlement, or compromise. Premarital Mediation is a way to resolve your premarital issues which lets you keep full control of the outcome. The only people making decisions are those involved in the dispute, unlike seeing individual attorneys first, where the attorneys may end up with more influence over the terms of the agreement than the engaged couple.

Mediation Attorneys: This term may refer to attorneys who act as mediators and who have specialized mediation training, or attorneys who represent clients whose cases are in mediation with a 3rd party mediator. Sometimes these are referred to as mediation friendly attorneys, meaning that while the attorney may handle litigation cases, he or she also understands the value of settlement and mediation.

Mediator: A third party negotiator who acts as a link between parties who facilitates resolution and communication. Premarital mediation typically consists of 1-2 joint meetings between fiancées which last 3-4 hours each. During those meetings, you and your fiancé discuss the issues which need to be resolved prior to your marriage or for a premarital agreement. The mediator is there to facilitate the discussion, assist with communication, provide information and suggestions, and use specialized training to assist the two of you to resolve your differences and write up an agreement which is fair to both of you, and, if you have children, in their best interests as well.